{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_45210/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_45210","id":"gutenberg_45210","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45210","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Legends -- Colorado -- Pikes Peak Region"],"text":"LEGENDS\n\nOF THE\n\nPIKE'S PEAK REGION\n\n\n\n\n  LEGENDS\n  OF THE\n  PIKE'S PEAK REGION\n\n  _The Sacred Myths of the Manitou_\n\n  BY\n  ERNEST WHITNEY, M. A.\n\n  ASSISTED BY\n  WILLIAM S. ALEXANDER\n\n  ILLUSTRATED BY THOMAS C. PARRISH\n\n\n  PUBLISHED BY\n  THE CHAIN & HARDY CO\n  DENVER, COLORADO\n  1892\n\n\n\n\n  COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY\n  THE CHAIN & HARDY BOOK. STATIONERY & ART CO.\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n                                            PAGE\n\n  ON THE WATERS TOWARD THE GATE OF HEAVEN      7\n\n  THE HEALING FOUNTAIN AND PIKE'S PEAK        17\n\n  THE GREAT DRAGON                            31\n\n  TEMPLE OF THE LESSER SPIRITS                41\n\n  THE WIGWAM OF THE MANITOU                   53\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nHowever uncouth they may be, the myths and legends of early nations,\nlike the poetry of later, give the highest and truest exponents of\ntheir characters, and preserve with a singular fidelity the very\nessence of their daily lives, their fears and hopes, their assumptions\nand intuitions. It is proverbial that the songs of a people are\nstronger than their laws; and the myths and traditions embodying the\nsentiments upon which national character, national religion, are\nfounded, are more powerful than the songs, which they inspire. A\nballad of the people, a bit of folk lore, may teach us more than whole\nchapters of history; we can hardly understand history without such\nlights.\n\nA century ago Scotland was to England what Boeotia was to cultured\nAthens, proverbially the land of the uninteresting, the kingdom of\ndullness and prose; yet every lake and stream, every glen and rock wore\nthe halo of poetry, the glamour of romance; and when the Wizard of the\nNorth drew aside the veil of prejudice, the eyes of all England were\nopened as to visions, and the \"land of the mountain and the flood\"\nbecame as familiar and dear as the favored haunts of home. Scott had\ndiscovered a new world, new even to the dwellers in it. Gathering the\ntangled, distorted fragments of tradition floating about his native\nhills and dales, traditions full of romance, yet despised or belittled\nas trifles even by those from whom he learned them, he gave to the\nworld such pleasures of entertainment as it had seldom known before.\nAnd he gave to his country fame, and the intellectual stimulus which\nled to its prosperity. Thenceforth Scotland was one of the beloved\nspots of the earth. Our historian, Prescott, states that after the\npublication of \"'The Lady of the Lake' the post-horse duty rose to an\nextraordinary degree in Scotland from the eagerness of travelers to\nvisit the localities of the poem.\" Another has said that indeed the\nrace of tourists was called into existence by the pen of Scott.\n\nWhat those neglected legends were to Scotland, Colorado's are to her.\nWe scan the glories of her scenery, surpassing the marvels of the Alps,\nthe beauties of the Rhine, and lament the absence of tradition to give\nthem the charm of Old World scenes. The tourist notes this seeming\nsterility with a touch of prejudice. \"But where are your traditions?\"\nis the final, question; and the answer is, \"We have none; our history\nis too recent.\" Yet the romantic Rhine cliffs, or even the land of\nsphinx and pyramid, did not rise above the ocean until its waves had\nbeaten for ages at the base of Rocky Mountain peaks. This is the Old\nWorld, Europe and India are of the New. And if nature in fantastic\nplay has made this the world's wonderland, much more has man through\ncenturies written and rewritten its fading pages with the mysteries\nof immemorial myths, legends, and traditions. From Pike's Peak to\nPopocatepetl the land is a palimpsest, dotted with ruins of remotest\nantiquity, the relics of a people whose records are replete with\npoetry and strange romance. Their manuscripts enrich the archives of\nMexico and Madrid, and yet we learn but little of them. They moulder\nin the missions of the suspicious Spanish priests, or among the mystic\ntreasures of the Pueblos, and are decaying unread. When we come\nnorthward to the paths of later pioneers, to lands of less civilized\nraces, where history lives by oral transmission only, hardly a legend\nbut has lapsed into oblivion. Those only can live which are united to\nsomething concrete and enduring, or which are so vitally interwoven\nthat the life of one tradition insures the life of another. The early\nhunters looked upon natives whom they met as savage aliens rather\nthan possibly kindred beings, and cared more for their furs and gold\ndust than for any history of their peoples. But even yet much may be\nregained from a study of the records of Spanish priests, from the\nlips of living races, and from the thickly scattered ruins, many of\nwhich are even yet undiscovered, nearly all of which are practically\nuninvestigated. Indeed, much has been regained, and from the mass of\nmaterial in the collections of Bancroft and others, and from results\nof original research, the present writer has sought to extract what is\nmost interesting to the audience to whom this little book is offered.\n\nThe perhaps most remarkable cycle of myths north of Mexico, the\nSacred Myths of the Manitou, might have perished, or lost their home\nand identity at least, in another decade, though the loss of such\ninteresting relics of aboriginal thought would have seemed inexcusable.\nBut what we yet retain is sufficient to appeal to the imagination most\nvividly, and its restoration in this late day seems almost to partake\nof the nature of strange revelation. We ask who were the people among\nwhom such fables originated. The question as to the identity of the\nearliest inhabitants in the Pike's Peak region is a difficult one to\nanswer, but the conclusion of the latest historian is that a race which\nhad made considerable progress in civilization dwelt for centuries in\nColorado. Then a more barbarous people encroached upon its territory,\nand it was crowded southward step by step, advancing in civilization as\nit was driven from barbarism, leaving picturesque ruins along its later\npath. It is the conjecture of many students that this people was none\nother than \"that mystic race of Aztlan, who, ages before, had descended\ninto the valley [of Mexico] like an inundation from the north; the race\nwhose religion was founded upon credulity; the race full of chivalry,\nbut horribly governed by a crafty priesthood.\"\n\nThe situation of Aztlan, the ancient home of the Aztecs, is the most\npuzzling question in Mexican history. At all events, it was almost\ncertainly north of Mexico, but whether it linked the home of the\nAztec and Toltec to California on the northwest, or to Colorado on\nthe northeast, it seems impossible for the unprejudiced historian to\ndecide. The latest and safest guide through the conflict of varying\nassertions, Mr. Justin Winsor, represents a consensus of the wisest and\nmost conservative opinions. He is inclined to believe that undoubtedly\ntwo streams of immigration, one on each side of the Rocky Mountains,\nflowed together into Mexico. Toltec tradition tells of a long sojourn\nsome twelve centuries ago in a land called Hue Hue Tlapallan, which\nmeans \"Old Red Land,\" and a local historian has called attention to its\nhint of Colorado--\n\n      \"Which fair Columbia, bending toward the West,\n      Now wears a crimson rose upon her breast--\"\n\nland of \"crimson-hued rocks and yellow plains,\" the \"land of red\nearth.\" Certainly no place but the wonderful Grand Caverns of Manitou\nand the several caves of William's Canon has been found in the probable\nrange of Aztec migration, which can be so well identified with the\nmysterious \"Seven Caves\" of Aztlan, so often mentioned in Mexican\nmyths. It was the sacred birth-place of their great god Huitzil, and to\nit sacerdotal embassies were sent even as late as the year before the\ninvasion of Cortez. The early explorer whose name the great mountain\nnow bears, shows that a Via Sacra from Mexico northward to the peak was\nlong kept open. \"Indeed,\" Pike wrote of the mountain in 1806, \"it was\nso remarkable as to be known by all the savage nations for hundreds\nof miles around, and to be spoken of with admiration by the Spaniards\nof New Mexico, and was the bound of their travels northwest.\" It is\nnot unlikely that the knowledge of an open and traveled path, and\nthe belief that it led to temples rich in gold and jewels, led the\nearlier Spaniards to their northern settlements and later excursions.\nThe tribe of Montezuma was but one of a group of tribes each of which\ncontributed its quota to the phenomenal civilization of the empire of\nAnahuac during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Even granting\nthat neither Aztecs nor Toltecs rose in Colorado, it may still be\nconfidently believed that at least one of the most important Nahuan\nnations learned its early lessons of barbaric culture under the tuition\nof Pike's Peak. And this tribe or nation during the slow migration, or\nsoon after, was completely absorbed by the Aztec stream, if it was not\nthe leader of it. What more probable? If it did not join this stream\nwhat was its fate?\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen in these \"Sacred Myths of the Manitou,\" we perhaps see reflected\nsome dim germs of that wonderful religion, which was at once the\nstrength and weakness of the illustrious victims of Cortez.\n\nFive, ten, or perhaps fifteen centuries ago the dwellers along the\ngreat mountain slope and adjacent plains had learned to look upon that\nregion around the eastern base of Pike's Peak as one made sacred by a\nthousand powerful associations. The great peak seen forty leagues\naway, towering among and wedged between the stars, \"pinnacled dim in\nthe intense inane,\" was to them the symbol of a god, the abode of the\nAll-Father, the wigwam of the Manitou. The wide ranges of alps on\neither side of it--the broad plains sublime in their infinity--even the\nmysteriously-born Father of Waters--none of these had the influence\nupon the superstitious and super-religious native which was exerted\nby that ever-watching warden of the west. Probably these early comers\nfirst saw the mountain after months of dreary wanderings over the\ndesolate prairies. Awful in loneliness when seen afar, silent and\nmotionless as death, they drew near and found it filled with life\nstrange and ennobling, and with a kindly nature, ready to stoop and\nmingle with the human and make them rich with blessings. It was a\nmountain of mystery. To the dwellers on the monotonous eastern levels,\nits ever varying miracles of light and shadow were revelations of\ninfinite spiritual power, and the sun-worshiper was ever drawn nearer\nto its presence where the mysterious manifestations could be better\nseen. If the hunter wandered out of its sight, it was at times perhaps\nwith a feeling of relief, as at escaping from an almost burdensome\noversight; yet he dared not stay long in the lands lying beyond its\nguardianship. It was a never forgotten element in life. If he slew\nthe deer or buffalo, a quick word of gratitude was sent across the\nplains. If sometime a dark thought came to him, he glanced furtively\nat this reader of thoughts, and faltered. If in lone venturing, perils\nconfronted him, he would lift up his eyes to the hills whence came his\nhelp, and go forward with new courage. If the tribes rallied for the\nwar path, they sat in reverence and hope before this god of peaceful\nheavens, until tempest darkened and hid his face, and then like storm\nswept down to certain victory. But if this oracle gave no show of\nanger, rash was the chieftain who dare attack a foe save in absolute\nand immediate self-defense.\n\nThe story is told that a great and powerful nation from remote regions\nonce invaded the lands of the children of the Manitou. Day after\nday the war band advanced toward this heart of the empire, and every\nday the threateningly severe mountain-god seemed more remote, more\nterrible, than before, until at last, overcome with superstitious\ndread, they turned back, believing it was impossible to harm his people\nor do battle in his awful presence.\n\nSuch were some of the thoughts which this mysterious mountain inspired\nin primitive minds. To them whatever of nature was strange, beautiful,\nsublime, or powerful, was worshipful. It was not unnatural that\nthe mountain should become dominant in their religious system. Sun\nworshipers already, what sublimer, nobler idolatry could there be than\ntheirs for this priest of the sun in the land of undimmed heavens! Even\nthe pilgrim of to-day would fain uncover and bend the knee before its\ntonsured head. That colossal Face upon the mountain side was the first\nof all American idols.\n\nCivilization made progress among the chosen people here, and there was\nmuch of nobility and thoughtfulness in individual characters. Their\nclimate, the gift of the Manitou, made them a strong race physically,\nbut they were, perhaps, chiefly feared and respected for their\ninstitutions and their distinguished religion. We have records full of\ndetail of religious systems far more remarkable, or more completely\ndeveloped, among the Nahuan nations. Torquemada estimates the number\nof temples in Anahuac to have been 80,000, and Clavigero places the\nnumber of priests in these temples at 1,000,000. Every year twenty to\nfifty-thousand human beings were sacrificed on their altars. The myths\nand fables of their religion fill huge volumes. But probably nowhere\nnorth of Old Mexico can be found traces of a theology anywhere nearly\napproaching in simplicity and grandeur this one which had its Ararat,\nits Eden, and its Salem in the Pike's Peak region. For here they looked\nas to the cradle and the Mecca of their race. The scant reflections\nwhich are given of this religion to-day, like the clouds of a fading\nsunset, can barely suggest the glory of that sunset, the wide-streaming\nradiance of the by-gone day.\n\nThe arch\u00e6ologist, tracing the religious history of the Greeks, finds in\nthe early home of one of their tribes the ruins of a temple, and the\ntorsos and other fragments of a group of statues. It is his first duty\nto preserve these exactly as they are found. It is a second obligation\nso to study the temple, and the arrangement of the sculptured\nfragments around and within it, that, if possible, he may understand\nand interpret the spiritual meaning of the whole, as an exponent of\nthe religion. In this work he will take assistance from history and\nfrom myth, and he will be aided by comparison with other temples. If\nobvious portions of the original group are hopelessly missing, his\nspecial knowledge may warrant the restoration of an arm or head or\npossibly an entire figure. After the manner of the arch\u00e6ologist, we\nhave delved among the ruins of a forsaken temple. We have studied the\nhistory, actual and mythical, of the race who revered its shrines. And\nwith the best lights vouchsafed to us, we have tried to give, in a form\nagreeable to the general reader, our restoration of the myths of that\nancient religion. If we have felt it necessary here and there to add\na touch of completeness almost arbitrarily, we have been so guided by\ncareful study of the myth makers and of cognate religions as to feel\nwarranted in each case.\n\nThe breath and finer spirit of a purely human religion, if any religion\nis purely human, is not always well shown in those myths and fables\nwhich are its most conspicuous chronicles for later times. The fables\nmay be full of the grotesque and the absurd, mere blind and awkward\ngropings after a system where all was vague and mystic at first. The\nfirst explanation of a crude theology will, it is likely, be accepted\nas the best. And in process of oral transmission through generations\nall the myths will suffer strange modifications without losing their\nmain identity. Thus none of the earliest names of the deities in the\nmyths before us have been preserved, and Manitou, the common name of\nthe supreme deity of the later races, has been adopted from the legends\nof later tribes.\n\nThe origin of a cycle of myths like the one we are interested in was\nprobably very much in this wise, if we may trust the teaching of\nanalogy. A tribe, naturally of a roving disposition, driven from their\nriver home by a series of devastating floods, strikes boldly out for\nnew fortunes in the unknown prairies. Long, toilsome journeys bring\nthem at last to the foot of the peak, where they make a new home, won\nby the genial climate, fertile soil, and varied topography. Gradually\nthe tribe increases, its power spreads, and it controls all the region\nround about. It is called the Mountain Tribe. Its members are children\nof the Mountain. It is not long before these dwellers by the Wigwam of\nthe Manitou are called children of the Manitou, and they believe in a\ngod as their creator and the mountain as their birthplace. Later the\nstory develops into the true mythological form, uniting their earlier\nand later religious ideas; and traditions common to all races of\nmankind, wherever found, are woven into it. So in its later shape we\nhave the following:\n\nAt the beginning of all things the Lesser Spirits possessed the earth,\nand dwelt near the banks of the Great River. They had created a race\nof men to be their servants, but these men were far inferior to the\npresent inhabitants of the earth, and made endless trouble for their\ncreators. Therefore the Lesser Spirits resolved to destroy mankind\nand the earth itself; so they caused the Great River to rise until\nit burst its banks and overwhelmed everything. They themselves took\neach a large portion of the best of the earth, that they might create\na new world, and a quantity of maize which had been their particular\nfood, and returned to heaven. Arriving at the gate of heaven, which is\nat the end of the plains, where the sky and the mountains meet, they\nwere told that they could not bring such burdens of earth into heaven.\nAccordingly they dropped them all then and there. These falling masses\nmade a great heap on the top of the world which rose far above the\nwaters, and this was the origin of Pike's Peak, which is thus shown to\nbe directly under the gate of heaven. Formerly it was twice as high\nas it is now, but lost its summit as we shall see later on. The rock\nmasses upon it and all about it, show plainly that they have been\ndropped from the sky. The extent and variety of mineral wealth in the\nregion prove that the earth's choicest materials are deposited here.\nAnd still as the constellations move across the heavens and vanish\nabove the mountain summits, we may see the spirits rise from the Great\nRiver, and pass to the gate of heaven. The falling stars are their\nfalling burdens, or the dropping grains of maize.\n\nAs the Lesser Spirits held their flight to the gate of heaven from time\nto time grains of their maize fell to the earth. These germs being\nespecially blest by their contact with the immortals, sprang up with\nwonderful vigor even under the waters of the flood, and soon reached\nthe surface, where they quickly ripened. Now among the inhabitants of\nthe earth left to destruction, was one man who by secretly feeding upon\nthe food of the Spirits, the sacred maize, had become much stronger and\nsuperior in every way to his fellow beings. Such was his strength that\nhe succeeded in sustaining himself and his wife above the waters for\na very long time. Suddenly a maize stalk rose before him and blossomed\ninto fruit. Breaking a joint from it, he soon fashioned this into a\nrude boat in which he took refuge with his wife. In commemoration of\nthis the maize stalk was ever after hollowed on one side. Not knowing\nwhat direction to take on the pathless waters, he paddled toward the\nonly other object visible upon the face of the deep. On approaching,\nthis proved to be another maize stalk. Upon it were a pair of field\nmice which shared with him their supply of grain. Launching forth again\nhe paddled toward another object visible in the distance, which proved\nto be another maize plant. It was held by a pair of gophers which were\nas generous as the field mice with their corn, and gave enough to\nsustain life until he reached the next maize plant. Thus unconsciously\nfollowing the course of the Lesser Spirits, he passed in turn the\nmaize plants of the prairie dog, the squirrel, the rabbit, and all the\nanimals, and then came to the maize plants of the birds, until passing\nfrom one to another he came to the mountain. Having landed his boat\nupon it, the man died of exhaustion, and the woman died soon after, in\nthe pains of maternity, giving birth to a boy and girl.\n\nThe Spirits, looking down from the gate of heaven, had watched the\nlong voyage of hardship with deep interest, and their sympathies\nwere aroused for the forsaken creatures on the bleak island peak.\nThinking that there was after all something worth preserving here, they\nendowed the infants with gifts raising them above their ancestors in\nintelligence and power. And feeding upon the sacred maize which the\nSpirits had dropped on the top of the mountain, the children rapidly\nadvanced to the age of maturity. One is minded of--\n\n\"There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the\nmountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the\ncity shall flourish like grass of the earth.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen the Spirits loosed one of the monsters of heaven, the Lizard\nDragon, Thirst. Seeing the great satisfaction offered him, the huge\ncreature plunged directly to the watery world beneath. The waters\nentirely engulfed him, and for the first time his unquenchable passion\nknew something like gratification. He drank and drank and drank, and\nevery day the sea grew lower and the mountain higher, until at last the\ndragon's body was uncovered. He pursued the waters, still drinking,\nuntil they had receded beyond sight. Then fearing he would dry up all\nthe oceans and rivers beyond, the all-powerful Spirits called him back.\nSeeking to return to the gate of heaven, his wings were unable to carry\nhis swollen body, and he fell back to the earth with such force that\nhis neck was broken off completely, and he lay a huge crushed carcass\non the land. Such was the origin of the Mountain of the Dragon, or\nCheyenne Mountain as it is called to-day. From his opened neck there\nissued a torrent of blood and water which made the soil over which\nit flowed the most fertile in the world. And after all the blood had\nflowed from his veins, there still issued a stream of the purest water,\nand the sweetest for quenching the thirst ever known. This fable of the\nLizard Dragon, Thirst, is strikingly characteristic of a land where\nthirst was one of the familiar terrors; and perhaps no creature of\nthe region is a fitter embodiment of the conception than the lizard,\nwhich frequents the dryest places. There is probably an allusion to\nthis legend in the quaint old Indian chant, which in translation would\nrun as follows:\n\n      \"On deer path or war path\n      I wish I were like the lizard,\n      Never thirsting because his grandfather\n      Once had all he wanted to drink.\n      But my grandfather was always thirsty.\"\n\nNo one who looks upon Cheyenne from the heights to the east or\nnortheast of the city of Colorado Springs can fail to recognize the\nbloated form of the petrified monster, even to the spurs upon its back.\n\nThe mountain on which the parents of the new race were left was so\nsteep and inaccessible that they could contrive no way to escape from\nit. At last when their supply of maize was nearly gone, and the land\nbelow began to grow beautiful with new verdure, the Spirits told them\nto get into the boat and, after the manner of Quetzalcoatl, to slide\ndown. The track made by the boat may even yet be seen on the eastern\nface of the mountain, and was a favorite resort of Quetzalcoatl, the\nsliding god; and the boat itself, the cradle of the race, was of course\npreserved. From the campus of the college it can best be seen, riding\nthe ridges of the granite waves that flow tumultuously by that eminence\nwest of Cheyenne known as St. Peter's Dome. It is shaped like the\nfamiliar birch-bark canoe, curving high at either end, and in it sit\ntwo worshipful figures, one plying the paddle. One of the most frequent\nembellishments in Aztec MSS. pictures such a canoe moving over a flood\ntoward a lone mountain.\n\nAt the foot of the mountain they found the most beautiful climate in\nthe world, for being directly under the portals of heaven it shared\nwith the Spirits the overflowing effulgence of celestial light and\natmosphere. But the subsiding waters had left about the foot of the\nmountain all manner of dead creatures, and these with the body of the\ndragon filled the air with pestilence. Then the parents of mankind\nprayed to the Spirits for help. And the Spirits heard their prayer.\nThey turned the huge body of the dragon to stone, and they granted to\nthe parents of mankind that this their home should never know the curse\nof disease, but that it should be held sacred as a place of healing for\nall the tribes. As a pledge of their promise they sent to them Waters\nof Life, so that the land was made sweet, the pestilence stayed, and\nall diseases healed. And such was the origin of the celebrated springs\nof Manitou, which retain all their miraculous virtues to this day.\n\nFor a long time the inhabitants of the earth dwelt in the ease and\nluxury of a golden age. But soon their numbers so increased that it was\nno longer easy to live without care, and the people were obliged to\ndiffuse themselves over the region round about. Then came three of the\nLesser Spirits, and dwelt among them. One taught them agriculture; from\nthe second they learned how to make weapons and set traps, and hunt\nsuccessfully; and the third instructed them in religion and government.\nEach of these Spirits built for himself a magnificent titanic temple\nand home. Although it is impossible to identify each temple with its\nparticular deity, the three are well known by their modern names as\nThe Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie, and Blair Athol. It was the mission\nof the third Spirit to lead them to the worship of the one and single\nAll Father, the great Manitou, whose home was in the heaven of heavens,\nand whose manifestation was the sun. It is a familiar fact that the\nworship of the sun, as the most obvious type of regenerative life, was\none of the very earliest and most widely spread germs of religion, not\nonly among the primitive nations of America, but in the Old World as\nwell. And the purist of to-day who sees nothing worshipful in these\nmanifestations of the deity, may by his own misconceptions know less of\nsome of the attributes of that deity than did his more reverent fellow\nin days of ignorant barbarism.\n\nAt first under the instruction of the Spirit, the people became so\nenthusiastically faithful in their devotion to the new religion, that\nwhen their eyes were closed, and even at night the image of the Manitou\never stood before them, and tradition tells us that they were often\nafflicted with blindness. It was not unnatural that awe and fear\npredominated over love in such religion, and that their god was at\ntimes a Moloch in their sight. Moreover only the clearer eyes of the\nroyal family and of the higher priestly class, could discern the exact\nfeatures of the Manitou in that blaze of glory.\n\nAt last certain of the people, urged by some of the royal princes,\nimplored the Spirit to intercede for them, and ask the Manitou\ngraciously to throw aside this impenetrable and awful veil of splendor,\nwherewith he was wont to envelope his countenance, and favor them\nwith a more endurable manifestation of his watchful care. After much\npersuasion the Spirit consented to undertake the precarious mission.\n\nSoon the people noted that the sun, which had hitherto passed directly\nabove the mountain, was gradually withdrawing towards the south. His\nwarmth lessened, plants perished, and the first Winter came with its\nnew and strange hardships. Flocks of birds were seen flying after\nthe departing sun. Many among the people followed their god, and\ndespondency fell upon the children of the peak when they realized that\ntheir Manitou was offended.\n\nBut soon those who remained were cheered by a new presence in the\nheavens, a milder, more acceptable manifestation of the Manitou. The\nsilver moon appeared with its varying phases, now in one part of the\nsky, now in another, but ever showing clearly to all eyes the plain\nfeatures of the Manitou. But the Manitou still showed the supremacy of\nthe sun by paling the new image in its presence, and causing the moon\nto do reverence to the sun by wholly yielding to its glory for some\ndays every month, after which the moon came forth with renewed beauty;\nfor that invisible image in the sun was stamped anew upon the face of\nthe moon each time that it drew near the god of day, thus insuring an\naccurate reproduction, much to the satisfaction of the thoughtful.\nThese wonderful changes in heaven and earth caused consternation\nthrough all neighboring nations, and couriers were sent from tribe\nto tribe. When it was found that only the children of the peak could\nexplain the inexplicable phenomena, great was the increase of their\npower and authority.\n\nThe reverence for the Manitou now deepened among the people. They\nfound that the rigors of Winter were after all a blessing with few\ndisadvantages. And soon the Manitou became so pleased with the\nworshipers that he even brought back the sun from the low skies of the\nsouth, the birds returned, and some of those who had followed the sun\nin his retreat, sought their old homes, with strange tales of their\ntravels.\n\nBut votaries of the changing moon were themselves a fickle and restless\nfolk of varying moods, though when a great discontentment arose\nagain it was through their devotion to steadfastness. It was the old\ncraving for a greater familiarity with the gods, which we find among\nthe most religious races of mankind, that led the people to their\nnew discontent. Only for a part of the time could they worship the\ninconstant moon, and the priests felt that when its face was turned\nfrom them there was a laxity of discipline which could not fail to be\nserious. So the tutelary Lesser Spirit was again implored to intercede\nfor them and obtain the gracious favor of a more continuous revelation\nof the presence of the Manitou. They wished to see him and worship him\ndaily and hourly if need be. The Lesser Spirit received their message,\nbut in departing with it for the gate of heaven he bade them farewell\nforever.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nSoon after the great mountain was wrapped in dense clouds with thunders\nand lightnings. The mountain shook and the hills and plains vibrated\nas under the heavy blows of earthquake shocks. Day after day passed in\nterror until at length the clouds cleared away and all was calm again.\nThen, lo, a great light fell from the open portals of heaven full upon\nthe towering mountain top which was at its threshold. And there from\nthe highest point of the peak shone down upon them a majestic and\ngodlike Face. Far out upon the plains, far as the heaven-meeting peak\ncould be seen, its features were manifest to all, filling the observers\nwith awe and an unknown sense of the power and nearness of the Manitou.\nAs a final seal of sacredness the mark of the symbol which had already\nof old been stamped upon the face of the sun and the moon, was now\nset upon the earth, and upon the very mountain of their history and\nreligion. And, the legend is careful to add, the nation became more\nunified and more powerful than ever,\n\n      \"Watched over by the solemn-browed\n      And awful face of stone.\"\n\nThere seemed now no reason for further entreaties to the Manitou,\nwhose kind regard for his chosen had been so signally shown. But\nwith that inspired belief which shows itself in all histories, that\nreligion should stop short of nothing but absolute perfection according\nto the thinker's own ideas, it was not long before the devout priests\nfelt the need of giving further information to their Overruler. It\noften happened that while perpetual sunshine and moonlight bathed the\nplains, dark clouds wrapped the summit of the mountain of the Manitou\nfor days at a time, thus concealing their Keblah, and interrupting\ntheir devotions. Sorrow and murmuring rose among the simple people in\nthose days of darkness. They dared not undertake a journey, perform a\ntribal ceremony, set their traps, plant their maize, or engage in any\naffair of consequence unless the visible face of the Manitou looked\nfavorably upon them. They were too childlike to worship and trust the\ninvisible when the Great Face had once been seen. They would that the\nveil of clouds which gathered about the summit of the mountains might\nbe dispelled forever.\n\nAfter suns and moons of hesitancy and of longing for the counsel\nof the departed Lesser Spirit, the people were emboldened to send\nan embassy of priests and princes up the stairway of the mountain\nto the gate of heaven, with their petition to the Manitou. The last\nthree steps of this vast stairway are still plainly seen just north\nof Cheyenne Mountain, and bear the modern names of Monte Rosa, Mount\nGrover, and Mount Cutler. Amid the prayers and sacrifices of the people\nthese departed on their unprecedentedly presumptuous and hazardous\nmission to the Face of the Manitou, the gateway of heaven, and were\nnever heard of more. Terrible was the punishment of their sacrilege\nin thus approaching the inapproachable. Violent storms enveloped the\nmountain to its very base in fire-riven folds of darkness. Great rocks\ncame ruining down its precipitous sides, or fell from the clouds, and\nnight succeeded night with no intervening comfort of light. The people\nfled in terror from their quaking homes, and scourges of bitter rain\nand biting hail drove them far out upon the plains. These tremendous\nconvulsions threw them prostrate with fear with their faces in the\ndust. For dust, as though the mountain were ground to powder, filled\nthe air, and has filled it many and many a time since in the region\nabout the base of the peak, in commemoration of those days of reproof,\nwhen the stricken inhabitants of the earth realized that they were\nbut as the dust of it, and were bowed in sack-cloth and ashes. At\nlast when the anger of the Manitou was appeased the clouds of wrath\nrolled away, and the sun and moon and blue sky came once more. What\nwas the bewilderment and awe of every beholder to see that the top of\nthe sacred mountain had disappeared altogether, and no longer reached\nmore than half way to the gate of heaven. Mortals should never again\npass over that lofty stairway. The presumptuous ambassadors of the\npeople had been hurled from the high threshold, and the top of the\nmountain cast upon them, like \u00c6tna on Enceladus. It is a wonder that no\nSpanish priest has here woven in some fable of confusion of tongues and\ndispersion of races, but it comes later in the story.\n\nThough with angry reproof, their prayer had been answered. For on the\nplain before them, at the foot of the great peak, rose their colossal\nPalladium, that very threshold stone of heaven, the topmost step of\nthe stairway of spirits, the summit and crown of the old peak, still\nbearing upon it the Great Face of the Manitou. Never again were the\npeople presumptuous in their religion; and never again was the Face\nconcealed from them, however heavy the clouds upon the peak, except\nwhen the spirits were displeased with the nation.\n\nTo this day whoever looks from any point on the site of the old capital\nof the aborigines, where now stands the City of Colorado Springs, the\ncity of refuge, can still see the calm, benignant features of the old\ngod of these early Aztecs, on the side of Cameron's Cone, the old\nsummit of the discrowned peak. The snows of winter hide its features\nfor weeks at times; and when the noonday sun shines full in its face,\nthe ancient superiority of the day-god is shown, for the features are\nthen an indistinguishable mass of light and shadow. But through Spring,\nSummer, and Autumn, in the afternoon shade, or in the fullness of\nthe morning light, it towers in the west like a clear vision. More\nmajestic than the Zeus Otricoli, grander in design and proportions than\nthe fabled dream of carven Athos, it stands as the most perfect, the\nsublimest of the sculptures with which unaided Nature or the skill of\nman has adorned the earth. One is slow to believe that Nature alone\ncould so closely mimic the majesty of art, but it is impossible that\nAztec hands could have wrought out such a colossal conception.\n\n      \"'Twas Nature's will who sometimes undertakes\n      For the reproof of human vanity\n      Art to outstrip in her peculiar walk.\"\n\nTo one who would learn how step by step the savage mind groped onward,\n\"through Nature up to Nature's God,\" it is clearer than all theological\nlectures.\n\nFor many generations the favored nation increased in strength and\nintelligence. But at length a barbarian host, apparently from the\nnortheast, came pressing upon them with the sweeping onslaught of a\nherd of buffaloes, with the fierceness of mountain lions. It may likely\nhave been this very invasion which furnished to the laureate Southey\nthe material for his noblest epic, the story of Madoc and the Aztecas\nof the Missouri Valley. The religious people of the peak, relying upon\ntheir gods alone, fell back before them until their very sanctuary was\noppressed and profaned.\n\nIt is true that in earlier times, when they were weaker in number and\nskill at war, such reliance had not been disregarded. For once a host\nof giants and of monsters had attacked them from the hostile north,\nbefore whom all resistance had seemed utterly vain. And then a great\nwonder had taken place. The Manitou had turned his mountain face, even\nas the face of an \u00c6gis, upon the invading bands, and straightway each\nand all had changed to stone! It was a terrible sight indeed for future\nenemies to behold that gorgonized army of granite giants standing\nathwart all paths approaching from the north or northeast, no longer\nbesiegers, but unwilling and silent defenders whom no foe had yet found\ncourage to approach. And though flood and tempest have overthrown\nand buried many of them, yet by Austin Bluffs and still more in the\nstrange, grim forms which give name to the world-famous Monument Park,\nthe routed remnants of that ancient army may still be seen, some\nstanding defiant with shield and club uplifted to meet the crash of\nDeath's petrific mace, some crouching in eternized horror at their\nimpending doom.\n\nBut though the present had living witnesses of the truth of this\nencouraging tradition, yet the children of the Manitou had no longer\nany right to expect such needless intervention, and finally, encouraged\nby supernatural signs they turned against their enemies and repulsed\nthem from their shrines. But on the day after the battle the sun arose\neclipsed, clouds veiled the hills, and a great flood rolled southward\nfrom the mountain valleys. When light was restored to them after a\nlong tempest, lo, the air was filled with omens. As once before beasts\nand birds were passing southward in the path of the waters, winds were\nblowing and strange clouds drifting in the same direction. The scouts\nbrought word of a mighty mustering of myriads of the enemy from the\nnorth. In the midnight sky auroral warriors, red with slaughter,\ndanced the war dance and menaced them with destruction. And most\nterrible, most astounding of all, the Great Face which had hitherto\nturned lovingly and fully upon them, now looked away to the south! It,\ntoo, had been eclipsed and turned in a single day.\n\nThere was but one interpretation of the omens. Plainly they were to\nforsake their old kingdom, which had grown less and less fertile, and\nless able to support the increasing numbers of later generations. But\nall that was good should go with them. The changed face of the Manitou\nintimated that his watchful care would still follow them in their new\nhome, nor would he look with favor upon the usurpers. The flood of\nwater told that tides of fertility awaited them. The departure of birds\nand beasts in advance of their march showed that Nature was still their\nfaithful steward. Yet they felt with sadness that because they had\nallowed sacrilegious invaders to violate the great sanctuary, they must\nhenceforth be expelled from the immediate presence of the Manitou.\n\nWith the departure of this interesting people from the cradle and home\nof their history, the chapter of their story which concerns us most\nis led to a natural end. Indeed it would be difficult to continue it,\nfor such records of their wanderings as have been found are vague\nand incomplete; no two writers would interpret them alike. For these\npeople mingled with others and lost their individual identity when they\nentered the broad path to Mexico over which such extensive migrations\nwere then passing. The history of no one of the Nahuan nations is\nintelligible for its migratory period. Though the progressive line of\narchitectural ruins stretching across the plains and down the valleys\nof New Mexico and Arizona into the Aztec empire, would seem to show\nthe finger posts of the great marching route of these nations, yet so\nbarren are the records of the so-called Cliff-Dwellers and other early\ninhabitants of our southwest territory, that many historians even doubt\nthe connection between the architects of Casa Grande and of the palace\nof the Montezumas. To our minds the proofs which may be gathered from\nthe preceding pages are sufficiently conclusive for our purpose. And\nit is not impossible that further researches among the records of\nthese medi\u00e6val, these Dark Ages of aboriginal history, may set our\nconclusions beyond the reach of skepticism. If our little sketch be the\nmeans of suggesting to one reader how much there is of pleasure, of\npoetry, of truth, of religion, in Nature and natural associations,--if\nit be the means of prompting more thorough investigation and more\ncareful preservation of every scrap of tradition now vanishing among\nthe races of aboriginal America, we shall feel that it has not been\nwritten in vain.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPOPULAR BOOKS\n\n\n  BY\n  L. B. 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These Photographs are always in stock, and sent to all parts of\nthe world by\n\n  THE CHAIN & HARDY\n  BOOK, STATIONERY AND\n  ART CO.\n\n  WHOLESALE AND\n  RETAIL AGENTS\n  FOR COLORADO.\n\n  Catalogues on Application.\n\n\nCOLORADO WILD FLOWER BOOKS.\n\nThese beautiful Books are elegantly and artistically made, and contain\npressed flowers of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. These flowers\nare perfectly prepared and retain their natural colors. They make a\nhandsome and oppropriate souvenir of this Western country. Sent post\npaid on receipt of the following prices:\n\n  No. 1     each, $0.25\n      2       \"     .50\n      3       \"     .75\n      4       \"    1.00\n      5       \"    1.50\n      6       \"    3.00\n      7       \"    5.00\n      8       \"    8.00\n\n\n\n\nTranscribers' Notes:\n\n\nPunctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant\npreference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.\n\nSimple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced\nquotation marks retained.\n\nAmbiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.\n\nPage 17: \"some dim germs\" was printed that way.\n\nPage 44: \"came ruining down\" was printed that way.\n\nAdvertisement on last page: \"oppropriate\" was spelled that way.","title":"Legends of the Pike's Peak Region; The Sacred Myths of the Manitou","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":7639}